Fancy a quiche? This cheese and leek quiche recipe is a variation of the classic old-school French recipe, with a crispy crust, rich filling, and taste that will make you go "mmmmmm!"
Like the best French-inspired cuisine, it's simple yet deliciously effective. So, don your apron, clear the schedule, and learn how to master this superb cheese and leek quiche recipe!
Why you'll love this cheese and leek quiche recipe
- Very simple and easy to make
- There's only six ingredients, all of which are easy to get hold of
- The combination of the crusty pie crust and the rich cheese and egg mixture is pure heaven
- Perfect with your favorite salad on the side
Equipment you'll need for this recipe
There are a few key kitchen items that you'll need for this cheese and leek recipe:
- Tart tin – a tart tin, pie plate or pie dish is needed for this quiche recipe, either a a 30x20cm rectangular or 30cm round loose bottom flan tin
- Ceramic baking beans – you'll need these to 'blind bake' the pie crust dough to make sure your quiche doesn't have a soggy bottom
- Rolling pin – a good quality rolling pin is essential to roll out the pastry
- Large frying pan – this is for sauteéing the leeks.
How to make cheese and leek quiche
Line a springform pie tin with shortcrust pastry.
Bake blind until the base is partially cooked.
Gently fry the leeks.
Prepare the quiche filling.
Add the grated cheese.
Stir the leeks into the cheesy filling.
Tip the filling into the pastry shell.
Bake until golden and cooked through. Serve with a green salad. Enjoy!
Top tip
When fitting the pie crusts into the bottom of the pie dish, fingers can often cause rips. So, take some pastry dough to finger your fingers, then work away!
What to serve with leek and cheese quiche
Sides
With this tart, I enjoyed a crisp, green, leafy salad with red pepper, cucumber, pecans, and vinaigrette. Here are some other great ideas on what to serve with quiche.
Wine pairing
This leek quiche is crying out to be paired with a glass of wine, and I've got just the pick for you!
Something smooth, dry, and white would be a match made in heaven. Choose a South African Chenin Blanc, a fabulous oaked Chardonnay, a Pinot Gris, or a Riesling, and enjoy the magic!
Would you like to save this?
Variations to this recipe
- I've gone with ready-to-roll pastry for this quick and easy quiche recipe. However, if you want to elevate the dish, make your homemade shortcrust pastry.
- Add pancetta or unsmoked bacon if you want to make this recipe extra decadent. Cook the meat with the leek.
- Make it extra cheesy, and grate some cheese over each quiche after you've filled the pre-baked pastry crusts with the egg mixture.
- For a tomatoey twist, add little dollops of tomato puree or chopped pieces of sun-dried tomato to the pastry crust base before adding your egg, cheese, and leek mixture.
Popular substitutions
- You can use a variety of different cheeses for this quiche recipe. I've gone for cheddar, but feel free to swap cheddar for Swiss cheese. I love the combination of gruyere cheese and leeks in a quiche. You could also use crumbly goat cheese or parmesan cheese.
- You can replace the leek in this quiche with red or white onion. You could even use spring onion, which you don't need to precook – you can add it straight to the egg mixture.
- Feel free to replace the whipping cream with heavy cream. Heavy cream has a slightly higher fat content.
- Swap and switch whichever vegetables you want – broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, spinach – anything green would be great!
Top tips
- Don't overcook the quiche! Please watch it as it reaches the end of the cooking time. You're looking for that beautiful golden brown topping, but the quiche should have a slight wobble in the middle when you remove it.
As there's still heat in the middle of the quiche after you remove it from the oven, it will carry on cooking. So, removing it just before it's fully cooked is crucial to reach that perfect just-cooked level. - If your pastry case has any holes or cracks in it, use the scraps of uncooked pastry to patch them up. Brush well with egg white and seal it thoroughly. Then return it to the oven for another 3 minutes to dry the egg white.
- Be sure to preheat the oven before blind baking, otherwise the timings will be off.
What is quiche?
A quiche is a staple French dish. It's a pie crust filled with an egg, cream, cheese filling, other vegetables, herbs, and sometimes meat, and then baked to perfection.
Quiche is typically served for lunch with a leafy salad, although it can also be enjoyed as a quick dinner or a 'pick me up' brunch.
What's the difference between traditional quiche and quiche lorraine?
A traditional quiche is egg-based and can contain any vegetables mixed with cheese. However, while a proper French quiche Lorraine is also egg and cheese-based, it should have French cheese, heavy cream, and bacon.
Why isn't my quiche creamy?
It could be for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, the dairy to egg ratio. You must get this right because your egg will turn out dry and rubbery if you don't use enough cream. Make sure you follow the precise measurements below.
Secondly, it could be that your quiche is overcooked.
How do you know when a quiche is cooked?
Firstly, it should have a lightly golden brown coloring on top. The best quiche is always ever-so-slightly underdone – there should be a slight wobble in the center of the quiche. It will continue to cook after you take it out of the oven.
An excellent way to test the quiche at that 'just about cooked' stage is to insert a knife into the middle. The blade should be almost clean, with just a little moisture.
How do you prevent quiche from going rubbery?
A rubbery quiche is the result of using too many eggs. A good ratio for quiche is about two eggs to every 250ml of cream. This recipe calls for four eggs and 500ml cream, ensuring the quiche sets without taking on a rubbery texture.
How do you stop a quiche from going soggy on the bottom?
This is where pre-baking the pie crust comes in.
When making a pastry-based dish with a very wet filling, the pastry crust first needs time to bake without the filling. If not, it will become soggy on the bottom. The typical quiche filling is an egg-based mixture, so it must be pre-baked.
When pre-baking or 'blind baking' your quiche crust, use baking beans or rice. This keeps the base of the crust weighed down and prevents little pockets of air from building up underneath.
How do you thicken a quiche filling?
The eggs do the work when it comes to thickening a quiche mixture. All you have to do is make sure you follow the measurements below. You're golden as long as you've got the correct ratio between the eggs and the cream!
Do you need to use baking beans when making a quiche?
Yes. You'll need to 'blind bake' the pastry before adding the filling. This prevents the bottom from going soggy. The baking beans (you can also use rice) weigh down the pastry to prevent it from rising while drawing heat to the pie.
How do you prepare leeks?
Slice them lengthways, wash them inside, and then thinly slice horizontally.
Should vegetables be cooked before adding them to the quiche?
It depends on the vegetables. The leeks must be sauteéd for this recipe before adding them to the quiche.
Can this quiche be made ahead of time?
This quiche can be partly made ahead of time.
This tart is best made on the day, but you can bake the pastry and make the filling the day before, then fill and bake on the day. Leave the pastry covered in cling film in the kitchen and store the filling in the fridge.
How do you store quiche leftovers?
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. They will stay fresh for 2-3 days, but I'm willing to bet they won't last that long!
Can you freeze this cheese and leek quiche?
If you want to keep the quiche longer, it's possible to freeze it for up to six months. For step-by-step instructions, please look at my guide to freezing quiche.
How do you reheat quiche?
It might be easy, but reheating quiche can be a little tricky. Get it wrong, and you'll end up with a soggy, gooey mess. Get it right, and it'll be as good as the first time.
Luckily, there are plenty of ways to reheat quiche and retain that all-important taste and texture. Please review our guide on How to Reheat Quiche for foolproof, step-by-step instructions on each method.
More delicious baked recipes
A quiche is just one of many wonderful savory baked recipes out there. Here are some more for your inspiration:
- Cottage pie
- Homity pie
- Bobotie
- Lancashire butter pie
- Gluten free shepherd's pie
- Haam en kaas souttert
📖 Recipe
Cheese and Leek Quiche
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 portions 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Indulge in a savory delight with this Cheese and Leek Quiche recipe. Creamy, cheesy, and bursting with flavor, it's a perfect brunch or dinner option!
Ingredients
- 500g shortcrust pastry, fresh or frozen and defrosted
- 50g butter
- 1kg leeks, trimmed, thinly sliced and washed
- 500ml whipping cream
- 4 large eggs
- 200g (8oz) hard, crumbly cheese like Cheshire, grated
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C/400°F/gas 6).
- On a floured surface, roll out the pastry to line a 30x20cm rectangular or 30cm round loose bottom flan tin, leaving an overhang of pastry around the sides of the tin.
- Prick the base of the pastry case with a fork to prevent air bubbles from forming during baking.
- Line the tart tin with baking parchment and fill it with ceramic baking beans or dried pulses to weigh it down during blind baking.
- Bake the pastry in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until the pastry is firm.
- Remove the tart tin from the oven and carefully lift out the baking parchment filled with beans. The base should be partially cooked.
- Return the pastry case to the oven and cook for about 5 minutes more until the edges are golden brown and biscuity.
- Trim off any excess pastry using a small serrated knife, following the edge of the tart tin.
- While the pastry is blind baking, melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the leeks and stir until they are well coated. Season the leeks to taste, then continue to fry gently for about 10 minutes until they have softened and any excess liquid has evaporated. Allow the leeks to cool slightly.
- Mix the cream and eggs in a separate bowl, ensuring they are well combined. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.
- Stir the cooked leeks and cheese into the cream and egg mixture until everything is evenly distributed.
- Once the blind baking is complete and the pastry is golden brown and biscuity, remove the pastry case from the oven.
- Tip the leek and cheese filling into the prepared pastry case, ensuring the leeks are evenly spread.
- Return the filled pastry to the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the quiche is lightly browned on top and slightly wobbly in the center. The residual heat will continue to cook the center as the quiche cools.
- Once baked, remove the quiche from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving.
- The quiche can be enjoyed warm or cold, making it a versatile and delicious dish.
Notes
- With this tart, I enjoyed a crisp, green, leafy salad with red pepper, cucumber, pecans, and vinaigrette.
- If your pastry case has any holes or cracks, use the uncooked pastry scraps to patch them up. Brush generously with egg white and seal it thoroughly. Then, please return it to the oven for another 3 minutes to dry the egg white.
- This tart is best made on the day, but you can bake the pastry and make the filling the day before, then fill and bake on the day. Leave the pastry covered in cling film in the kitchen and store the filling in the fridge.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 614
- Sugar: 7.1 g
- Sodium: 719.6 mg
- Fat: 36.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 20.8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 53.3 g
- Fiber: 3.4 g
- Protein: 19 g
- Cholesterol: 169.8 mg
Gina Strnad
This is exactly the type of recipe I was looking for!Thanks xx
Renil M. George
me and my family love this dish so much, its so tasty.
Teresa
Made this quiche and wow, myself and my daughter really enjoy this dish. We even had second helpings.
I have freeze the rest for another day.
Jen
I made this tonight! So yummy.
I used a regular pie plate for it because that's all I have. It still worked out great I just had to cook it for about 10 extra minutes! I just burned my tongue on it because I didn't want to let it cool, besides that it was awesome!!!
Ronan
Wow, fantastic recipe! Used it twice now - I must say it's perfect. 🙂 Thanks!
Margaret
'Tis an excellent recipe and one I have made several times before, I'm not surprised you loved it.
oneshotbeyond
saving this for future use and consumption. 🙂 Thanks!